Are gyroscopic vehicles the future of urban travel?

This gyroscopic vehicle – controlled by a joystick – may just be the future of urban commuting. Russian studio Dahir Insaat designed the futuristic pods to provide a radical green solution for cities looking to curb urban transportation problems.

The gyroscopic glass-dome cabins use an innovative take on the classic gyroscopic system to enable the vehicles to be completely self-balancing. With just two wheels, the pod’s movements are completely controlled with a joystick instead of a steering wheel.

Although the concept is feasible for individual drivers, designer Dahir Semenov wants to expand the idea of gyroscopic vehicles to include public and emergency transportation for cities. The concept envisions gyro vehicles such as firetrucks or public buses lifted on narrow stalks that would use rails to glide over conventional traffic.

Semenov has spent years developing the concept, mainly inspired by the need to address the issues facing overcrowded urban areas. He said, “I do not have the slightest doubt that this mode of transportation will supersede buses, trams, and trolleybuses in the cities of the future… I can say without exaggeration that this mode of transportation is compatible with the human habitat, with the spaces in which city dwellers recreate… After all, it is absolutely safe in both ecological and physical terms.”